1-12 诺贝尔大师自传：西德尼·奥尔特曼（在线收听）

Autobiography of Nobel Prize Winner:

Sidney Altman

I was born in Montreal¹ in 1939, the second son of poor immigrants. My mother worked in a textile mill² and my father in a grocery store before they met and married. It was from them that I learned that hard work in stable surroundings could yield rewards, even if only in infinitesimally³ small increments.

For our immediate family⁴ and relatives, Canada was a land of opportunity. However, it was made clear to the first generation of Canadian born children that the path to opportunity was through education. No sacrifice was too great to forward our education and, fortunately, books and the tradition of study were not unknown in our family.

I am conscious of two events that sparked my early interest in science, the first being the appearance of the A-bomb⁵. The mystique⁶ associated with the bomb, the role that scientists played in it, and its general importance could not fail to impress even a six year old. About seven years later I was given a book about the periodic table⁷ of the elements. For the first time I saw the elegance of scientific theory and its predictive power. I should mention that while I was growing up, Einstein was presented as a worthy role model for a young boy who was good at his studies. I added various writers of fiction and stars of ice hockey⁸ and baseball to my pantheon⁹.

By the time I reached high school my father's grocery store had made our life adequately comfortable and I was able to choose, without any practical encumbrances¹⁰, the subjects that I wanted to pursue in college. My intention was to enroll at McGill University but an unexpected series of events led me to study physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There I experienced four years of over stimulation¹¹ among brilliant peers and outstanding teachers. Lee Grodzins supervised my senior thesis in nuclear physics and provided me with a wonderful research experience and with his friendship. During my final semester at MIT, I took a short introductory course in molecular biology¹² to find out what all the excitement was about. That course, taught by Cyrus Levinthal, familiarized me with nucleic acids¹³ and molecular genetics and prepared me for future encounters with these topics.

I spent eighteen months as a graduate student in physics at Columbia University, waiting unhappily for an opportunity to work in a laboratory and wondering if I should continue in physics. Eight months later, having left Columbia, I was studying physics in a summer program and working in Colorado when I decided to enroll as a graduate student in biophysics. George Gamow, the physicist, had steered¹⁴ me to Leonard Lerman, then working at the University of Colorado Medical Center. Lerman provided the guidance, friendship and critical¹⁵ analysis that enabled me to enjoy molecular biology in a productive manner.

I have been blessed with outstanding mentors¹⁶, people who became personal friends and who have illuminated¹⁷ so many aspects of human creativity for me with their intellectual power. In particular, they are Leonard Lerman, Mathew Meselson, Sydney Brenner and Lee Grodzins. There are, of course, many others whose names I cannot list here. My life has been enormously enriched by my marriage to Ann Korner in 1972. My wife is my colleague, mentor and friend in every respect. She and our two wonderful children have contributed immeasurably to whatever success I have achieved.

注释：

1.Montreal [7mCntri5C:l] 蒙特利尔[加拿大东南部港市]

2.textile [5tekstail] adj. 纺织的；～mill纺织厂

3.infinitesimally [in7finE5tesimEli] adv. 极微小地；微不足道地

4.immediate [i5mi:djEt] adj. 最接近的；贴近的；the～family直系亲属

5.A-bomb [5eibCm] n. 原子弹

6.mystique [mis5ti: k] n. 神秘性

7.periodic table [化]周期表

8.hockey [5hCki] n. 冰上曲棍球，冰球(=ice～)

9.pantheon [5pAnWiRn] n. (一批)卓著人物；(一组)显耀事物

10.encumbrance [in5kQmbrEns] n. 妨碍；累赘；烦恼

11.over stimulation [5EuvE 7stimju5leiFEn] n. 过于兴奋

12.molecular [mEu5lekjulE] adj. [化]分子的；～biology[生]分子生物学

13.nucleic [5nju:kliik] adj. = nucleonic [生化]核素的；～acid[生化]核酸

14.steer [stiE] vt. 指导；引导；带领

15.critical [5kritikEl] adj. 判断(或评价)审慎的；谨严的，一丝不苟的

16.mentor [5mentC:] n. 导师，指导者

17.illuminate [i5lju:mineit] vt. 阐明，解释；启发，启迪

诺贝尔大师自传：西德尼·奥尔特曼

　　1939年我出生在蒙特利尔一个贫困的移民家庭，我是家中的第二个儿子。在我母亲和父亲相遇结婚之前，我母亲在一家纺织厂工作，父亲在食品杂货店。正是从他们身上我懂得了，在稳定的环境中努力工作会得到报偿，即使报偿的增加非常微小。

　　对于我们这样的移民家庭来说，加拿大是一个充满机会的地方。但很明确，在加拿大出生的第一代移民孩子必须通过教育才能得到机会。所以，为促进我们接受教育，家里做了很大的牺牲。幸运的是，我们家知道书籍的重要性并且有学习的传统。

　　我清楚地记得有两件事情激发起我对科学的最初兴趣。第一件事情是原子弹的出现。原子弹的神秘、科学家在其中发挥的作用及其普遍的重要性，甚至让一个6岁的孩子也留下了深刻的印象。大约7年以后，我得到了一本元素周期表的书，第一次看到了科学原理的精确以及它的预见能力。我要提一下，在我成长过程中，爱因斯坦是一个热爱学习的年轻人效仿的榜样。同时我也喜爱各种小说家、冰球明星和棒球明星。

　　到我上高中时，我父亲的杂货店经营得很好了，足够我们舒适地生活，这样我就可以不必考虑任何实际负担，选择我在大学想学的课程。我本打算去麦吉尔大学注册，但由于一系列意料之外的事情，我去了麻省理工学院学习物理。在那里，我与一群才华横溢的同学和杰出的教师们一起度过了十分活跃的4年。李·格罗津斯指导我做核物理的毕业论文，教给我宝贵的研究经验，也给了我许多友爱。在麻省理工学院的最后一学期，我上了赛勒斯·利文撒尔教授的分子生物学简明基础课程，发现了令人振奋的东西。它使我了解了核酸和分子遗传学，并为我将来从事这方面的课题做了准备。

　　我在哥伦比亚大学读了一年半的物理学研究生，一方面不安地等待着能够得到在某一实验室工作的机会，一方面考虑我是否要继续学习物理学。8个月后，我离开了哥伦比亚大学，决定去科罗拉多大学读生物物理学研究生，于是便在那里参加一个暑期的物理培训课程，并做些研究工作。这之前，物理学家乔治·盖莫把我引见给伦纳德·勒曼，他当时在科罗拉多大学医学研究中心从事研究工作。勒曼给我指导和友谊，并教我做严谨的分析工作，这些使我由衷地喜欢上了分子生物学。

　　我一直有幸得到一些杰出的导师的帮助，他们都成了我的私人朋友，他们用他们的聪明才智向我阐明了许多有关人类创造力的问题，特别是伦纳德·勒曼、马修·梅塞尔森、西德尼·布伦纳和李·格罗津斯。当然，还有许多其他的人，容我不在此一一列举了。我与安·科纳在1972年结婚，我们的婚姻极大地丰富了我的生活。在任何方面，我的妻子都是我的同事、良师和好友。无论我取得了什么成就，她和我们两个出色的孩子都为之做出了不可限量的贡献。